"Though here!" Ruby called as the rush of students broke through to the docking area. Much like she suspected it was a scene of chaos as Grimm, soldiers, and White Fang seemed mashed together in warfare. They wasted no time as they set upon everything.

Ruby zipped ahead and Crescent Rose twirled in an almost hypnotic dance of fury. Each swing resulted in the death and dismemberment of Grimm, be they Ursa or Beowolves. She stopped as her blade wedged into the pavement with a bullet in the chamber. A quick click of the trigger and she unloaded several rounds of ammunition into her foes, killing Grimm as well as knocking back a few Fang.

One of the terrorists tried to get close through the crowd, yet Ruby saw their advance. She prepared herself for a counter, and watched as the Fang was picked up and practically rocketed into their buddies. Ruby smiled as Yang brushed the dirt off her jacket.

"Alright, who wants some!?" The blond cracked her knuckles as she walked towards the charging hoards of Grimm.

They leapt for her, yet Yang clearly wasn't having any of it as she met them head on. She stepped to the side, fist bolted back as they passed, only to crush her knuckles into the side of it's snout. The armored mask broke and the Beowolf stumbled and rolled as it crashed into the ground. Arms shot out and Yang took the claws of an Ursa with her bare hands. Her fingers slipped between its claws as she tightened her grip, and soon enough the joints shattered with a crunch as she pulled it over her shoulder and introduced it to the floor. Still holding it's broken paws she held it's head down with her boot, and with some pressure crushed it.

Another made a leap for Yang but it was impaled as several blades seemingly flew into it. The blades looked to pull the Grimm and it was yanked back, only for more to shoot into it, with one pierced straight between it's eyes. The beast began to fade as the airborne swords flew back to the owner.

"Are you well friend Yang?"

"Never better, thanks for the save Penny." Yang called as she sent a kick into a nearby Fang grunt.

"Stupendous!" The girl cried as she took both tusks of a charging Boarbatusk and spun it around. She picked up speed a bit before letting go, and the creature was sent flying into a group of Fang; the whole group was knocked apart.

"Nice strike!" Called Yang only to flinch as a shard of ice shot up next to her. The brawler turned her head to meet with the gaping maw of a particularly sizeable alpha Beowolf as it did it's best to bite at her with it's remaining life. Another spike tore through it's skull from underneath and it began to dissipate.

"Watch yourself! We're in a battle here!"

"Y-yeah, sure thing Weiss." Yang spoke as she stepped back from the popsicle of death.

Weiss was about to return to the fight only to see the familiar smoke of dead Grimm waft past her vision. She turned to the sight of a Nevermore grounded and fading as a golden figure faded from atop it.

"I could say the same about you, keep an eye on the skies." Came the voice of Sun, staff in hand as he fought against several other Grimm in the distance alongside Neptune.

"Sun!?" Weiss called as the guy smirked, flipped between a small group of Fang, and twirled his weapon knocking all of them over.

"Yo!" He called as he leapt back away from the downed terrorists; just in time for the glyphs underneath to encase their limbs in icy shackles.

"There." Weiss sighed as she looked to him. "When did you get here?"

"Just now." He returned as he ducked underneath a Beowolf and sent a brutal kick to the Jaw of an Ursa. He knocked the creature away with his staff and blocked the claws of the wolf. "Thought everyone might need some help."

"Can we please finish this battle up before we have our get-together!?" Blake grunted as she landed next to Weiss and kicked away a diving Nevermore.

"Sounds like a plan!" Replied Sun as he jumped back into the battle.

"How's it looking Blake?" Weiss asked as the girl took on a readied stance.

"Not too bad. We've thinned out the Grimm enough that even the soldiers can clean them up." Blake was interrupted by the sounds of an explosion, and confusion marred her face as an alpha Ursa went flying through the skies.

"Home run! Look at how far he went Renny!"

"I can see that Nora but please be mindful, there are others here as well." She heard Ren call as the excited girl in the distance nodded and went back to whacking at the Grimm with her hammer.

"At least someone's having fun." Yang spoke from her side as she looked over.

"Shouldn't everyone be paying attention to the Grimm!" Blake asked with slight tension only for her partner to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah... I think we've kinda got 'em all." She spoke as Blake set her sights back on the field just in time to see Pyrrha and Jaune work together to double-impale the final Ursa. Blake sighed as her body slumped.

"Well we survived, although I don't exactly like how casual everyone seems." Her voice calmed as she looked to the others. "Let's just figure out what to do next?"

"Will do." Yang smiled with a thumbs-up.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Questioned Jaune as Blake looked up.

"We're fine. How bad are things looking?"

"See for yourself." He showed his scroll. It was open on a broadcast of the events in Vale. Both soldiers and hunters could be seen pushing back the tides of Grimm and Fang, all the while the scattered remains of the once new atlesian knights lay in pieces. "No matter how much they fight there are just too many Grimm."

"The panic is drawing them in." Spoke Weiss as she made her way over. "Unless everyone can calm down they'll keep drawing more and more until the kingdom is overrun."

"So how do we stop all the panic?" Yang asked as Weiss scowled and thought it over.

"We'll just have to keep fighting for now. If we can thin them out we may be able to put some hope in the citizens. It might calm them down enough to allow us to push back."

"Do we even have the numbers though? Vale is huge, and with so many Grimm they could end up just about everywhere." Yang spoke as Ruby walked up; Crescent Rose at the ready.

"We need to try. Even if we have no chance we still have to make an effort to save as many people as possible. It's either that or everyone dies."

Before anybody could comment a roaring engine could be heard. Everybody - students, soldiers, and all - set their sights on the direction of the noise. A couple airships could be seen as they rose from below. The whirling winds blew viciously as they docked, and the door rose up from one followed by a walkway that extended to the pavement below. Ruby felt a bit of relief as she recognized the two, and Yang felt some dread upon sight of the third.

"Uncle Qrow!" The cloaked leader cried. The man wore a smirk as he looked down.

"Miss me?" He spoke as the trio stood atop the ramp. Qrow looked at the scene, and with a small nod he let out a whistle. "Quite a mess you've got here, but everyone looks alright. I'm guessing you've already figured out what's going on in Vale?"

"Yeah. We're... working on a plan." Ruby said as her voice shrunk a tad. "But we don't have solid idea yet."

"Anything's better than nothing." Qrow commented as Ironwood nodded from his side and faced the students.

"I won't sugarcoat it, right now the odds are stacked against us, and the chances of preventing both civilian and hunter casualties are zero. People will die, many already have, and we have no intention to drag any of you into things. You may stay and fight if you wish, or you can board the coming bullhead we have for civilians and escape to somewhere safe. You're all young and not fully trained, nor are you expected to face circumstances like this yet. Nobody will fault you if you run."

The students looked between themselves, murmuring as the seconds passed. The air was tense as several seemed to shuffle on the spot, unsure of how to react. Nora however was the first to really respond as she swung her hammer onto her shoulder.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I wanna break some legs!" She called as Ren shook his head from her side; a sly hidden smile could be seen across his lips for but a moment before the usual calm returned.

"It would appear I'm needed to keep my partner from going too extreme. Though it's not our call" He looked to Jaune. "What will we do?"

"We fight... I mean we've already faced things like this before right? We came to Beacon to be hunters, so this is our job isn't it?" The words came out more of a question, and Pyrrha smiled a little as she stood next to him with pride.

"It is." She clarified with a nod as he returned it and faced the general.

"We'll help however we can!"

"What do you think of that one?" Yang nudged Weiss a little as she whispered to her.

"His wording could use a little work, but otherwise it's passable."

"Very well." Ironwood nodded as he looked out across the students. "If any of you wish to leave with the civilians you may make your way over to them and the soldiers will escort you when the ship arrives."

Nobody moved; not even a flinch in their faces could be seen. Qrow smirked and Ironwood felt a small swell of pride towards the young hunters in training.

"Alright, if that's your choice then so be it." He took on a more serious look. "Things aren't looking good, our systems have been hacked and our new atlesian knights have turned rogue. Had we the full force of them in Vale things would be looking a lot more dire, however reports sent to me have assured they are almost nearly wiped out. Only the White Fang and Grimm remain."

A hand shot up and the general nodded as the girl walked forwards.

"General Ironwood sir, may I ask as to the current status of Vermillion at this moment. Visual observation back at the arena showed discrepancies against all other scan types." Penny told as the man nodded.

"We know."

"Know what?" Jaune questioned, only to slap a hand over his mouth. The general let out a deep breath as he faced the crowd.

"As soon as we saw what was happening I looked into his cell. He was still there." The general faced Penny. "You said there were discrepancies?"

"Yes sir! The visual scans showed Vermillion alongside several Grimm. But aura scans showed a single woman expending large amounts of aura." Penny explained as the general took on a shocked look for but a second before it twisted into something grim.

"A woman?"

"Neo, her name is Neo." Called Yang as she stepped forwards. "V said she could create illusions. We fought her and Roman some time ago along with the White Fang."

"Illusions..." Ironwoods eyes lit up. "Could it be. Qrow-"

"I hear you, and I get what you're thinking but let's give it a bit first."

"She has to be the one-"

"We'll catch her. First let's deal with this." Qrow said as the man shut his eyes and calmed his thoughts.

"Yes, you're right." Ironwood looked back to the students. "At the moment we're working out a plan of action, and seeing as you've decided to fight alongside us we're open to any and all ideas you may have." The general explained as he looked over the crowd.

"This is your chance if you have anything to add." Qrow commented as Ruby spoke up.

"We might have something. It's not a full out 'plan' but it is an idea."

"Shoot." Qrow said as he leaned on his side, watching as his niece took a moment and faced them.

"We were thinking that if we showed ourselves pushing the Grimm back on camera it might raise everyone's spirits a bit and calm them down. That way the Grimm would be less drawn in and we could clean up the remaining ones."

"A morale boost." Ironwood hummed at the thought. "It could work theoretically."

"Problem is we don't have the force necessary to create any meaningful pushback." Qrow quipped with a sigh. "And video of the battles are already popping up in broadcast."

"What if we made it look like we're pushing back?" Blake jumped in. "If we shot a live broadcast of us clearing out Grimm in an isolated area we could make it appear as though we're winning."

"But what about all the others? One stream isn't enough to convince everyone we're on a roll." Yang questioned as Pyrrha surprisingly gave her thoughts on the matter.

"We could have a confirmation." She looked to the general. "If you were to report that a certain percentage was cleared out over the stream it would seem like all the battles are being won."

"It's risky... all it would take is a single counter claim to put everything into question." The general shook his head; expression steadfast as he took on a bold stance. "But nothing crucial has ever been won without risk. I'll assign some of my men to record our progress and give false reports of our victories."

"So we're really going along with this." Qrow sighed as Ironwood and Junior sent tense looks.

"You got any better ideas?" Junior asked as Qrow shook his head and face the students.

"This is a dangerous game we're playing. I'm assuming you all know the risks." For a moment he took on a somber look. "I can't guarantee you'll make it out alive."

"We've been training our whole lives for this. Give us our chance to show what we're made of." Yang said as she cracked her knuckles. Qrow looked over the other students, and a cocky smile slipped across his lips as he saw the determination in their eyes.

"Alright then." He watched as the students began to board the other ship; each one with their weapons at the ready. Qrow felt a small bit of hope creep into him as he muttered silently.

"Give 'em hell."

.

.

Winter forced her blade through the throat of the beast, it's gargled chocking being the last thing she heard from it's corpse. The kill was brushed aside as she charged for another with a great pale Beowolf at her side. Her blade slashed across it's side as her summon tore it asunder with it's jaws. She'd felt tense as she looked to the remaining battle, all the while worry beat at the back of her head.

Winter tried to push it away and focus better, but all she could do was dull it through the thrill of combat. Her sister was still at Amity, and while she was skilled at fighting Grimm she'd never been trained for the levels of severity they currently faced. Worst of all Weiss never finished her training with the family glyphs, and she worried how her sister would fare without being able to summon.

Summoning... perhaps the boy could have aided her if he wasn't locked away.

There was a stab of irony in how similar the Schnee family semblance was to Vermillion's summoning of Grimm, with the only difference she saw being that he didn't need to defeat them first. Winter leapt into a skirmish between one of her fellow soldiers and a couple White Fang. Her blade cut through the fragile flesh along the neck of the first, and the grunt choked and grasped at the fatal wound.

She forced her sword quickly through the chest of another and tore it back with enough force to yank them forwards. A knee to the jaw was all it took to put them out, and Winter looked to the downed soldier. All attempts at capture were off with the invasion, and the general's order went from ' arrest as many as possible' to 'do whatever it takes to survive'. The civilians became top priority, and any White Fang who threatened them were to be dealt with permanently.

"Can you stand?" She asked as the guy coughed and rolled over to reach for his gun.

"Y-yeah." He took hold of the firearm and pushed himself up. Winter took to his side as he shook, nearly losing his footing as he tried to steady himself. "A few strains, a few gashes, n-no big dea-"

The man went limp.

Winter laid him down and rushed to check his breathing. Upon finding nothing she checked for a pulse, and then a heartbeat; both were absent. She felt her teeth grit as she stood; chalking the death up to blood loss from all the wounds littered across his body. Swiftly she dove headfirst back into the battle.

Her blade tore apart many opponents, to the point where she'd lost track of just how many kills were Grimm or Fang. The chaos needed to be quelled, and despite all the pain and fatigue she was set to get it done. Yet her onslaught would be halted as vicious caws drummed from above. She shot her focus upwards, and quickly threw herself away as something crashed down - trailing behind a sight that brought on even more tension.

Vermillion rolled as he hit the ground, his mount faded to smoke, and with blade drawn he stood next to her as they faced down the coming darkness.

"I need your help." He spoke as she raised her blade in preparation.

"At this point everyone needs help." Winter focused as a series of glyphs surrounded the two. "But we can't get to them until the Grimm are dealt with. I'll assume you never meant to bring a whole flock of Nevermore."

"I only needed the one to escape." His eyes looked to burn. "Winter, Roman's in control of the ship."

"We'll deal with that later, right now get ready. Don't leave the circle." She said as the Nevermore dove in unison. Despite her initial worries Vermillion obeyed, not moving an inch as the wave of shadows approached.

A smirk crossed her lips as the first Grimm passed over one of the glyphs, seemingly torn from the sky by an invisible hand and crushed into the ground. The rest that followed met the same fate and were mashed into the pile. While Weiss had been more skilled at environmental manipulation through the glyphs - Winter preferred to use her summons - she herself had still retained a few tricks. Gravity dust had a variety of effects when combined with the family semblance, and one of the most useful was in the dust's namesake: gravity control.

Winter let the stress she'd built up wash away as smoke filled the air above; the glyphs faded and she saw Vermillion do the same. His armor disappeared and she saw him stand with a less rigid posture as he sheathed his sword. However her victory was short lived as she saw the remaining soldiers surround them, and all their weapons were trained on the boy next to her.

"Don't move a muscle!"

Author's note

...

We're getting into it now. Everyone's all coming together, and V is still getting himself into trouble; at this point it's almost routine.

Don't really have much to say for this one other than it's coming along... I guess.

Hope you enjoyed, and see you later.